The 3 Rs of Martial Arts Remix
by Lov3the3vil
Summary: Everything in life has a yin and a yang. A light and a dark. When Ranma falls into a special spring at Jusenkyo, he learns that he'll need to master both sides in order to survive China when the Musk become involved.
1. Prologue Breath In

DISCLAIMER: Um, Ryuu's an OC of mine and Ryo's an OC that belongs to my friend Melissa. Ranma and crew belong to Takahashi-dono. So yeah, don't sue me, kay? (And if you'd like to use either character for any reason, ask me first please.)

The 3 Rs of Martial Arts Remix  
Prologue - Breath In

"We're almost there, boy, pick up the pace," The balding man known as Genma Saotome spoke as he followed the dirt path.

"Feh, if you carried some of this crap I'd be able to move faster, old man," Ranma said as he walked with two packs on his back, both looked to be bulging with miscellaneous items and clothing.

"Suck it up, boy! A martial artist's life is-"

"Fraught with peril. I know. You've only told me about a million times..." Ranma grumbled.

"Hmph!" Genma grumped at his son as he continued walking. It wasn't long before they arrived at a break in the foliage that surrounded the path. They were on a high path that overlooked a valley almost completely covered in small springs, each with a bamboo pole sticking out from its depths.

Once Genma caught sight of the valley he quickened his pace. Ranma stopped before the break and peered down at the ground below him, watched his father for a moment, and then shrugged as he hopped down several small ledges to the bottom of the cliff. He arrived a good 3 minutes before Genma and he smirked at him.

"Seems you're getting dumber every day, Pops."

Genma hit Ranma over the head with his fist while he growled his response, "Show your elder some respect, boy!" He didn't wait for an answer as he proceeded towards the hut by the edge of the springs. Ranma rubbed his head and gurmbled as he hefted the packs over his back once more and followed behind him.

A man in a blue jumpsuit type outfit walked out of the hut and greeted them, "Ah, honored sirs!You come to view beautiful Jusenkyo valley, yes?"

Genma ignored the man and looked over the springs for a moment before jumping up onto a bamboo pole. The pole seemed a bit strained under the sudden weight, he looked over to his son, "Well, boy, are you going to get up here so we can spar?"

"Aiya! Honored sirs no spar over cursed springs!"

Ranma dropped the packs heavily onto the ground and rotated his arms to stretch out the kinks, "Huh, this training ground don't seem like much..." He said, only half listening to the guide.

"No matter," Genma said, jumping to another pole further towards the center of the valley, "We came all this way to train. And I'll be damned if we don't train."

Ranma rolled his eyes, "You're damned anyway," he replied shaking his head and stretching for another moment before jumping onto a bamboo pole and then going towards his father.

"Aiya...why no honored sirs listen?" The guide said to himself, "Honored sirs get cursed and then guide must explain everything. Why foriegners no as smart as they seem? Though old honored sir not look very smart in first place..."

The sparring started light, as a warm up, and slowly got more intense as time passed. Genma jumped at Ranma with a flying kick that was blocked by Ranma's forearms and then counterattacked with a thrust kick that shot him backwards to a pole further away. Ranma jumped after him and, while Genma was busy regaining his equilibrium, hit him with a crescent kick to the shoulder, sending him into a spring several yards away.

There was a large _sploosh_ as Genma hit the water's surface and disappeared beneath it.

Ranma blinked, "Woah, those springs are deeper than they look..."

The guide rushed as close to the springs as he dared at the moment, "Old honored sir fall into spring of Drowned Panda. Tragic story of Panda who fall there-"

"Wait, these springs are cursed!" Ranma exclaimed.

The guide nodded slowly, "Springs of Jusenkyo are Springs of Sorrow. Honored sir not listen to guide?"

"No, I wasn't-" Ranma never finished his sentence as a giant panda jumped from the spring his father had fallen into and landed on a pole in a familiar stance, "Woah!"

The panda saw Ranma was distracted by something and attacked him with a flying kick. The kick caught Ranma in the chest, sending him into a pool on the opposite side of the valley.

"Boy, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Or at least that's what Genma had tried to say. All that came out was a bunch of grunts, growls, and growfs.

"Honored sir fall in spring of Drowned Elementalist Brothers! Tragic story of brothers who fall in spring 159 years ago. Both very talented in controlling elements," The guide said sagely while nodding.

The panda growfed as he stared at his paws. He fainted and unfortunately, or fortunately if you hate Genma as much as I, landed in another spring.

"Aiya!" The guide exclaimed, "Honored Panda sir fall in spring of drowned donkey!" The guide blinked, "I still wonder often how donkey come to China, but I not question things like Jusenkyo magic."

A donkey crawled out of the spring...somehow, and made a beeline towards the guide, careful not to fall in anymore springs. It hee-hawed at the guide and the guide poured hot water on the animal while explaining, "Hot water is temporary cure for Jusenkyo curse. If splashed with cold water honored sir turn back into donkey. Honored sir understand, yes?"

Meanwhile, back with Ranma, a strange occurance was happening. When Ranma fell into the spring he'd lost consicousness for a moment and his body didn't change, but two lights, one red and one blue, swirled around his body for a minute before entering his body. When the lights faded Ranma regained consciousness and swam to the surface, having noticed the lack of oxygen.

When he broke the surface and gasped for air he climbed from the spring, his clothes sticking to his body like a second skin. He collapsed on the embankment of the spring for a moment before slowly sitting up. He turned back towards the water and noticed his looks had changed.

He was still a guy, but he was taller. His build was denser and his shoulders broader. His face had lost all baby fat, his features now sharper, a small, and strange, tattoo appeared on his left cheek just below his eye. His bangs were now bright red and the rest of his hair had gained a flame-like look to it with red high-lights. And his left eye was a molten amber color.

"What the hell happened to me?" He held his hands up to look at them, "And why do I feel so powerful...?"

**Because you now have-**_ **Hush! Not yet!**_

Ranma jumped to his feet and his eyes went wide. He'd just heard two voices from within his head. That was _not_ normal, even by _his_ standards. He looked around and then waited in silence for a moment, not having heard the voices again, he chalked it up to the magic in the area playing tricks with his mind.

As he walked away from the spring and towards his father and the guide it never occured to him to wonder how the hell he knew there was magic in the area.

The guide smiled at Ranma as he approached, "Honored sir fall in special, yet cursed, spring."

Ranma blinked, "Wasn't I cursed?"

"Yes, but honored sir was cursed with special body. Body of very honored male from local Amazon tribe, Joketsozuko. Cursed body, and brother of honored male, was special man from Musk tribe," The guide explained.

Ranma scratched his head, "Um...?"

The guide shook his head, "Honored sir not worry. Guide bring you and old honored sir to Joketsozuko and let elders explain."

Ranma nodded, "Sure, why not."

"Will they feed us?" Genma asked, speaking up for the first time since Ranma joined them.

"Amazons will feed honored sirs when explaining is done. But for now, honored sirs follow guide, yes?"

(-)

Ranma looked around at the scenary as they walked and he couldn't help getting the feeling that he knew these lands just as well as the back of his hand. He passed a particular piece of foliage and paused. The guide and Genma noticed.

"Honored sir see something?"

Ranma shook his head, "I don't see anything. But...I, I can't describe why, but I just _know_ that if we went this way we'd get to the village faster..."

The guide shook his head, "There no other path but this one to village."

Genma scoffed, "Let the boy go his own way, he can get lost if he wants, we'll just have to find him later."

The guide seemed hesitant, but, seeing as Ranma wasn't going to follow the dirt path, continued leading Genma down the path. Ranma watched them go for a minute before taking a step into the bamboo thicket, his sight went blank for a moment before he witnessed a scene play out through his own eyes.

There was a young woman with long emerald green hair tugging on his arm, her bright green eyes shining with the joy and playfulness she was exuding at that same moment. As he stared deeper into her eyes, he could see the love she held for him, and that filled him with a pleasant warmth.

"C'mon, ----, Grandmother will be mad if we don't get back to the village on time!" She said with a smile.

He could feel himself return the smile, "Relax, Jade. If we're late your grandmother will know why."

She stopped tugging on his arm and put her hands on her hips, "Oh yeah, and why's that, ----?"

He growled playfully as he lost himself in the scene, "Because she wants babies almost as much as we enjoy trying to make one."

Jade laughed as he lunged at her in a playful manner and she dodged, this continued all the way through the bamboo thicket. Her laughter echoing around them and making him smile as he chased her. They arrived at the tall walls that barricaded the village from wild animals and kept their children safe at night.

She slowed down as they approached and smiled at him as she turned around and offered him her hand. He smiled and moved to take her hand, but when he went to grip her hand it faded from view, then the rest of her faded.

Ranma rubbed his eyes and looked around for Jade. _Where'd she go? Was...was she even real?_ He thought to himself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and moved the incident to the back of his mind. He could sort the incident out better when he had more time to think over everything, like at night when Genma was asleep.

He walked over to the main gates and arrived in time to meet up with the guide and his father. He waved to them with a smirk, "How was the walk?"

"Forget the walk, let's just get this explanation over with so I can get some grub," Genma scowled.

Ranma waved off his father's words with a casual wave of his hand, "Yeah, yeah. Always thinking with your stomach, as usual, Pops," He turned to the guide, "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

The guide nodded and walked up to the guards in front of the main gates and spoke with them in mandarin. If Ranma hadn't already been freaked out three times that day in the last hour and a half he'd have found it extremely strange that he understood what they were saying perfectly. As it was he chalked it up, again, to the magic of Jusenkyo.

After a minute or two of speaking with the guards, the guide appraoched them again and told them to follow him and the guards towards the elders' hut.

As Ranma stepped foot inside the Amazon village he suddenly felt very dizzy and couldn't tell up from left, or right from down. As he lost consciousness for the second time that day he wondered if maybe karma hadn't decided to rear its ugly head and make his life hell for that lollipop he'd stolen from that li'l girl three weeks ago...

To Be Continued...

Reviews welcome. Flames will be used to fight off any lawyers.

-Lov3the3vil


	2. Meet The Voices

DISCLAIMER: (shuffles through papers, holds a document up) OCs are mine... (Puts document down, shuffles through more papers, picks another document up) Ranma and the rest aren't. (Puts paper down) ...Damn.

The 3 R's of Martial Arts Remix  
Chapter 1 - Meet The Voices

**Rock, paper, scissors, says shoot! **

_**I win again. **_

**Two out of three. **

**_We've done this 5 times already._ **

**...6 out of 7 then? **

**_No._ **

**Damn it.**

"Ugh..." Ranma's head was swimming, everything around him was black except for the two fuzzy figures standing above him. He lifted his head a little and groaned.

**Look, he's awake.**

_**Thank you, Captain Obvious.**_

**Welcome.**

Two male voices, one was a bit deeper than the other. The deeper voice sounded aloof, the other sounded more mature. How did he get those impressions from their voices? Maybe it was the conversation, maybe it was a gut feeling, who knows.

**Does this mean we do things your way, or mine?**

_**Who won "Rock, Paper, Scissors"?**_

**You...so does that mean it's your way?**

_**Yes.**_

**Damn it.**

Ranma tried to get up quickly, but ended up falling back on his face because the room refused to stop spinning. He tried a second time, slowly, and had more success. His vision was finally straightening out, so he could see the men in front of him.

Ranma looked to the left and saw his a replica of his cursed body, only both eyes were amber on this guy. Creepy. To his right was the other man, maybe half a foot shorter than his curse, with softer features and sky blue eyes. He had short black hair that had more of a spike than the other guy's and in place of red there were light blue streaks in his hair that seemed to take a more wave-like shape in his hair, instead of the flame-like shapes of the other man.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Ranma was still a bit groggy from his impromptu nap.

**Welcome to your mind, Ranma Saotome.**

**_I am Ryo Nanashi and this is my older brother, Ryuu. _**Ryo introduced himself with a small bow and Ryuu gave a wave when his name was spoken.

**We hope you enjoy your vacation away from reality.** Ryuu said with a large smile.

"Vacation from reality? What-?" Ranma muttered confused.

_**Relax, you're inside your mind and while you're here time will pass by a bit slower.**_

**Yep, hours spent here could be a mere few minutes out there, ya know?**

Ranma raised an eyebrow, "And you're in my mind because...?"

**Oh, well uh...you know, I think Ryo would be better at explaining this technical crap than me...**

**_Couldn't have passed the responsibility on with better tact myself._** Ryo rolled his eyes.

**Yeah, you could h-**

**_Shut up, Ryuu._** Ryuu made a zipping gesture in front of his lips. **_I'm sure you've noticed by now that Ryuu looks exactly like your cursed form, right?_**

Ranma nodded, "Yeah, why is that?"

**_It's because we're the pathetic souls who fell into the spring and drowned. Your body now houses two more souls than it should and you now have _two_ cursed bodies._** Ryo explained.

Ranma gave him a blank look, "So I have two cursed forms. The second being your own body, if I guessed right. And both of your souls are inside me?" Ranma threw his hand in the air, "Great, just what I need. Flashbacks and voices, my life couldn't get much better."

**You could get laid.**

_**Shut up, Ryuu.**_

**Just saying...**

_**And I'm telling you to shut up, so zip it!**_

**Sheesh, someone's cranky.** Ryuu muttered while crossing his arms over his chest. Ryo sighed in response, looked up at the blackness above them, mumbling about idiot older brothers, and then placed a single hand on Ryuu's shoulder.

Ryuu eyed his brother's hand warily, rightfully so considering not a second later he was convulsing in pain. He collapsed to the floor in a smoking heap, slightly crispy, as soon as Ryo removed his hand.

Ranma watched it all with wide eyes, "What'd you just do to him? And why the hell was your shoulder glowing underneath your shirt!"

**_I just electricuted the fool. And the reason my shoulder was glowing was because I was using an element._** Ryo pulled the shoulder of his shirt down and showed Ranma the black markings tattooed there. **_The tattoo allows me to usean element, the marking glows when I activate it._** Ryo looked back at his brother, **_You know, smoking isn't a healthy habit to start, Ryuu. It's killed millions._**

Ryuu stood up, still slightly crispy though his eyes weren't swirly anymore, and narrowed his eyes at Ryo. **Oh, it's killed millions alright. And I'm gonna add your ass to the count!** At that moment, Ryuu's stomach glowed red beneath his shirt and his hand burst into flames. **How you feeling now, sparky?**

_**Lonely.**_

Ryuu's eyes widened. Ryo only responded with that when he was going to use- The marking on Ryo's cheek, the same on Ryuu's, began glowing white and a ghostly shape of a wolf formed next to his legs.

Ryo smirked. **_How are _you_ feeling now, Ryuu?_**

**Shitty and outnumbered.**

Ranma was still watching with wide eyes, but he was fascinated now. He remembered seeing the same markings these men had on his own cursed form. Did that mean he could wield these powers too? Well, hell, now he'd have to try that.

Before anything else could result from Ryo and Ryuu's familial spat, the scenary somehow managed to waver for a moment. The men paused, looked at their surroundings, looked to each other and nodded. The flames and wolf disappeared and they turned back to Ranma, completely serious.

_**We don't have much time, Ranma, your father and a few amazons are trying to wake you up and it won't be long until they result to a bucket of water.**_

**Hopefully they won't use cold water, but it's almost a gauruntee at this point.** Ryuu muttered.

_**We will talk to you tonight, when you're asleep. Until then, I ask that you don't try to replicate any of our powers.**_

"Why not?" Those moves had looked cool, he _had_ to try them, consequences be damned.

_**To do so without proper training, training that we will give you ourselves, would prove fatal.**_

Well, _those_ kind of consequences weren't going to go ignored.

**Listen, we'd explain more, but we're already cutting it close as it is. Whatever you do while you're staying with the amazons, do _not_ defeat any of their women. You must avoid fighting them at all costs.** Ryuu warned, at Ranma's curious gaze he elaborated. **I spent the last 10 years of my life in that village, Ranma, I know everything about it inside and out. And I will tell you right now, unless you're ready for marriage, do _not_ defeat any of their women. Challenge or no.**

Ranma didn't think he could turn down a challenge, but he wasn't ready for marriage yet, either. Something needed to be sacrificed and he'd be damned if it was his freedom that was sacrificed.

"Wait a second! You spent your last 10 years...then does that mean-?"

**Yes, you werereliving my memory.** Ryuu said with a sad, wistful smile.

Anything else that Ranma might've said was cut off as things grew hazy and then everything went black. Next thing he knew he was groaning and trying to open his eyes again. The setting wasn't as merciful as his mind was as a piercing light attacked his eyes.

"Ugh..."

"Get up, you lazy boy! You worthless son of mine, get up!" His father's voice shouted from the side. Genma's voice seemed to echo in his mind, bringing about a headache that would rival any woman's migraine during "that time".

There was a distinctive sound as some kind of wood slammed itself against his father's skull, if the hollow thwack that followed impact was any indication.

"Leave the boy be, fool," An old wizened voice sounded from near where Genma's voice had come from, "To slander the Hero of Legends in this village is very close to signing a death warrant."

Ranma opened his eyes slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light, and almost laughed at the sight of his father sweating bullets from a threat from a woman no taller than two feet and looking like a ghoul from a horror story told at night over a campfire. The urge to laugh only seemed to worsen his headache.

"Wow, Pops, first time I've seen you sweat so much since the last time we walked in front of a police station," Ranma commented as he slowly sat up, he'd learned his lesson from before. Sometimes slow was the way to go when you're recovering from an unwarranted nap.

"Welcome, young man, to the Joketsozuko village," The ghoul said, "I am elder Ku Lon."

"Uh, thank you, elder Cologne," Ranma said in turn. He rubbed his temple, hoping to get rid of the throbbing.

"Do you know whose body you currently possess?" Cologne asked.

Ranma was silent for a moment, trying to place the body with a name, _Oh, that's right_, "Ryuu Nanashi."

Cologne seemed a bit surprised at his response, "How did you know?"

"Uh...gut instinct?" Ranma tried, when it was clear no one outside Genma believed him he sighed, "The name popped up when you asked. I was guessing really..." Ranma lied. He was surprised he had managed that without pause, before today he had _really_ sucked at lying. _Huh, I guess Ryuu was a pretty good liar._

**Only when it counted.**

_**You can't leave it alone can you?**_

Ranma jumped a bit, startled at the sound of Ryuu and Ryo in his head. _That's going to take getting used to._

Cologne eyed the boy who wore their savior's body, "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, just...just a bit spooked at what's happened today. Still adjusting and everything..." Ranma silently wondered if it was sane to hear voices. Then dismissed the thought as unimportant. He could live with Ryo and Ryuu bickering inside his head whenever he was bored, it would be like a TV series inside his mind, only with no picture during the day. Ranma paused in his thoughts, _This train of thought can't possibly be healthy for my mental stability..._

**Says who? I've always wanted to act, you know...**

_**Shut up, Ryuu. And besides, without us, you'd have never known the word "stability" existed.**_

Ranma had admit, Ryo was right on that note. And-...and it suddenly dawned on him that his father had been speaking for the last minute and a half.

"-and then we can eat," Genma seemed pleased with his plans.

Ranma raised an eyebrow, _Whatever he said can't have been of much importance, but still..._ He turned to Cologne, "Elder, I was sort of zoned out while Pops was talking. What was he going on about?"

Genma looked indignant at his son's lack of attention while Cologne reiterated Genma's little speech, with more intelligence added of course.

"Your father was saying how we were going to explain the story behind the body you're wearing at the moment."

"And then how you were going to give us food," Genma added.

Cologne sighed, "Yes, then we'll prepare food for you both."

Ranma sighed, "Don't mind Pops, he's just a raving idiot who thinks with his stomach. He spent the last of our money on sake a day or two ago, so he can go a few more hours without food," Ranma grinned a bit evilly, "Take your time explaining. Please."

The look of horror on Genma's face was one that should've been put in a photo album.

To Be Continued...

Trying to keep the chapters at about the same length so they're easier to write.

Reviews welcome. Flames are used to fight off lawyers and annoying cousins.

-Lov3the3vil


	3. History With A Twist, Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ranma 1/2. Ryuu is my OC and Ryo is my friend's, since I got in trouble last time I was lazy and said he was mine...

_Ranma's thoughts  
_**Ryuu talking  
**_**Ryo talking**_

The 3 R's of Martial Arts Remix  
Chapter 2 - History With A Twist

Cologne led Genma and Ranma through the village to the Main Hall and Ranma idly noted the hungry looks. _Those looks I'm getting from the women of the village are beginning to creep me out._

_**Why are they creeping you out?**_

**Cause Ranma's a prude.**

_**Like you have room to talk.**_

**Hey, I wasn't the only one who got "the talk" from their wife several weeks before their honeymoon!** Ryuu shouted indignantly.

**_...Shut up._** Ranma chuckled at the by play between the two. Yes, he could certainly get used to having them around.

Ranma's thoughts and the boys' banter was cut off as Cologne announced that they'd arrived. Ranma stared up at the building, it was made of stone and the doors, also made of stone, had carvings of battles fought. He idly listened to Ryuu as he pointed out that all the carvings depicted legendary battles and none of the battles had men triumphing over women, mostly because of the matriarchal society the village used and mostly because few men were thought of as legend worthy.

The doors were opened by the two guards who stood beside them and the small group walked in, the guide had left previously to go back to his hut, seeing as he really wasn't needed any further.

The room was circular and had a large, curved, wooden table at the back of the room. There was a set of 13 chairs behind the table, and all but one were occupied by women who resembled Cologne in stature.

"What is the meaning of this, Cologne? You know males are not allowed within the main hall!" One of the women called out. A murmur ran through those assembled and Ranma heard Ryuu mutter about some things never changing.

Cologne held her hand up to forestall anymore noise, "I have a very good reason for bringing these males into the main hall, Soap," She gestured to Ranma, "Our guests both fell into a spring at Jusenkyo. But this one fell into a very special spring. I'm sure you will all agree with me that this young man is no stranger to any of us."

Cologne motioned for Ranma to step forward so the elders could see him better. When he did there were several gasps and a couple confused looks.

The youngest elder, Soap, spoke up, "Who is he?"

"He walks in the body of Ryuu Nanashi, the Hero of Legends," Cologne explained, "As such, he is automatically exempt from marriage and death laws. He is granted acceptance into any tournaments and may be taught our techniques if he so wishes," She paused, "That _was_ the deal, should anyone fall into the spring and emerge as the Hero, correct Lotion?"

Lotion, only a few days younger than Cologne, nodded, "That was indeed the circumstances that was established soon after his death. It also grants him a similar status to what the Hero originally had."

Ranma simply stood where he was, confused as his father was hungry. He meekly stepped forward another few inches, as if to remind the elders of his presence, "Um, could someone, maybe, explain all this to me?"

**I'd explain it myself, but it'd take too much time. I'll go over whatever they miss tonight before training.**

**_An excellent idea, history to get the brain ready for a workout._**

**Um, yeah...whatever you say, Ryo.** Ryuu coughed something that vaguely sounded like "Freak" and another brotherly brawl was initiated.

Ranma tuned out their taunts and the ruckus they were causing within his mind and just tilted his head, "Maybe you can elaborate on what the deal was...is while you explain Ryuu's history to me?"

"Yes, yes, I suppose that can be arranged," Cologne smiled at him, "Now, we can have the story told here or we can go to my home and sit in front of the fire for this."

Ranma thought on it for a moment before nodding, "If it's not too much trouble, could we head to your house? I've always preferred to hear stories in front of a roaring fire."

Cologne nodded to elders gathered, even as murmurs ran through their ranks, and led Ranma from the main hall. A few minutes later they had arrived at a nicely built house, with two stories, and were greeted by a young woman about Ranma's age. She was slightly shorter than him with long purple hair.

"Great Grandmother, who are they?" The girl asked in mandarin.

"This," Cologne gestured to Ranma, "Is our honored guest for the moment and he is exempt of all challenge laws. The man behind him is his father."

Ranma bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you..."

"Shampoo," She smiled brilliantly, "It is a pleasure to have you in our home honored one," She normally was not one to be polite to strangers, especially male ones, but she was no fool. She recognized the Hero of Legends; she'd heard the tale often enough and even had it memorized. This was the form of the man who had married the woman she idolized

Ranma returned the smile and Cologne cleared her throat, sometimes it didn't pay to be four feet high on a cane, "As pleasant as it is to know you both get along," _As I'd hoped_, "We should go inside and start the fire if I'm to begin our tale before sundown. It will be well into the night before it is over as well, so we'll need an early start."

Ranma nodded and Shampoo stepped aside to let them in. She moved to what Ranma presumed was the living room and started a fire in the fireplace there. He had followed her and now found himself entranced by the way that flames danced over the logs.

_**Oh, great, not even a full day and he's already inherited your sense of pyrotechnics.**_

**It isn't pyrotechnics until the kid has started to control the element. But yes, he does seem to have gotten my fascination with fire already.**

**_My only hope is that he isn't half as bad as you are when he begins his lessons._**

**All things considered... that's a pretty damn slim hope.**

**_Indeed._** Ryo trailed off, the rest of whatever he might have been talking about incoherent mutters now. Ryuu decided that, since Ryo was off in his little world, that it would be him that paid attention to the old crone's version of the story. Considerably ironic, since the roles are usually reversed for the Nanashi brothers.

Ranma settled himself down on the floor, his back to the wall and the flames at his side. Shampoo went into the kitchen and came out with a tray of tea, her grandmother hopping along beside her on her cane. Genma sat gruffly in front of the fire, Shampoo was next to Ranma as she handed him a cup of tea, and Cologne sat across from them, the light from the fire sending shadows dancing across her aged face. There might have been more light, but there was only one window that faced west, it didn't provide much light as the sun had already risen to its zenith.

"Now that we are settled in, it is time I began our tale," Cologne paused to sip from her cup, "This particular story begins more than one hundred and sixty years into the past, I was in my mid-forties when a young martial artist, no older than you are now, Ranma, entered our village with his brother seeking shelter. We allowed the young men their shelter, we looked down upon males, but even Amazons would not turn down travelers that looked as weary as they had.

"The two brothers were of the clan Nanashi and both were orphans at the time, only having lived with each other to depend upon. The younger was Ryo, a young man with an affinity for animals. He was often seen walking around with a strange looking wolf beside him."

"Strange how?" Ranma asked.

"The wolf was transparent, Ranma. Most who saw the wolf waved it off as either a figment of their imagination or a hallucination caused by a long day of hard work."

**_It was entertaining to watch people try to figure the girl out. No one expected her to be a spirit that I summoned for companionship..._** Ryo mused, now paying attention to the story unfolding.

"But it was a spirit, not a hallucination, right?" Ranma ventured, he wanted to seem like it was a fleeting bit of knowledge from his "curse" and not like he had the answer handed to him by the exact young man who had summoned the wolf spirit so long ago.

"Correct," Cologne gave him an appraising eye, "Quite knowledgeable on the subject, hm?"

Ranma shrugged, his amber eye glinting in the firelight, "When you were telling the story I got flashes of scenes, like I was reliving certain moments, but when you mentioned Ryo's wolf the information just kind of came to me."

"Interesting, now where was I? Oh, yes," Cologne cleared her throat before continuing, "Both young men drew ladies to them like moths to the flame, but only one lady caught the eye of the eldest, and the younger remained unresponsive to advances. A few months later they both departed to the north, towards pheonix territory, but turned west towards the Musk. We recieved word when they arrived, from Ryuu, with a promise to visit. We didn't hear from him nor his brother for another 3 months.

"When Ryuu returned to us, he returned alone, his brother had stayed behind with the Musk in order to court a noble woman. Though I know not her name, it was said her beauty was unrivaled in the Musk, accurate considering there were_ very_ few females among them that were born human."

_"Born human?"_ Ranma thought, _An odd choice of words._

"While Ryo courted the young Musk woman, Ryuu was courting his own crush."

"Jade," Ranma said._  
_

"Yes, Jade. She was the village healer and she herself had a small crush on the outsider. Of course, our rules are a bit different for marriage when it comes to our healers. We don't want them being injured in their fights to the point where they are unable to treat our warriors, so they are allowed to choose their husbands through courting," Cologne paused to take a sip of her tea before continuing, "It was a few weeks later that Jade agreed to marry the boy. A few days later word arrived that Ryuu's brother had also gotten engaged, to the very noble woman Ryo had stayed behind to pursue.

"The news was celebrated between our two villages, the boys had inadvertantly created a treaty of peace between two of us. Two villages who had been rivals for survival since they had been created. It was nice to finally have peace between us, regardless of how short the peace lasted. During our celebrations we had conveniently forgotten the third faction of our valley."

"The Phoenix," Ranma said.

"Indeed," Cologne nodded, "They were uneasy at our unofficial treaty with the Musk and knew that we could overtake them if we ever decided to attack. The Phoenix are powerful in their own right, but with the Muck on our side, victory would only be a matter of time. I do not believe the Phoenix or their king thought to create a treaty instead of simply attacking our village while the Musk were visiting with Ryo as their new addition."

* * *

A/N: Had this sitting around for a really long time, so I figured I'd Post what I have and finish up the rest of it when I got around to it. I'm actually kind of sad to see how much of a backburner story this turned out to be for me... -sigh- oh well. It's not dead, just in _really_ slow progress. I'll come back to it eventually.

Reviews welcome. Flames will be used to assault lawyers. Have a nice day.

-Lov3the3vil


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